The Fire at Mary Anne's House II
by MaryAnnefan4Life
Summary: Mary Anne's house has been burnt down. When she saw that every picture of Kayla-including a special DVD Kaylee made-were burnt into ashes, she got very upset. Will she get everything new?
1. Kristy Comes to Dinner

The Baby-Sitters Club belongs to Ann M. Martin

I was walking home from school when my best friend, Kristy Thomas, caught up to me.

"How dare you leave without me," teased Kristy as we laughed.

I forgot we were both baby-sitting for the Barretts and DeWitts today. Opps! Then, we plan to walk to Claudia's together after that. Honestly! Who am I? I'm Mary Anne Spier. I'm 14 years old and a long time Stoneybrook, Connecticut resident. I'm a ninth grader at Stoneybrook High School.

For a long time, it was just me and Dad. He raised me on his own after Mom died when I was very small. He couldn't raise me right away at the time, so my maternal grandparents raised me for a while until I was 18 months when he was ready to take me back. He got strict for many years because he wanted to prove he had to be a perfect parent. Luckily, that's over because I proved him that I was a middle schooler, not a baby.

And now, I got a beloved stepfamily and two devoted adopted siblings. First of all, Sharon Schafer, was actually Dad's old girlfriend from high school. She's been living in California since college. She got married there and had two children, Dawn & Jeff. Then, the Schafers got divorced and Sharon returned here with her kids. When Dawn and I first met, and became best friends, when we found out Dad and her mom went out way back in high school, we wanted to be sisters. I'm glad we are. Jeff didn't adjust the move and went back to California not long before Dad and Sharon got married when I was 13. Jeff visits here often. Dawn and I enjoy being stepsisters.

Like I said, I got two adopted siblings. Their names are Carlos Peters and Meredith Sousa. They get along wonderful. Carlos lost his family-including his two older siblings-at age eight. His room was an attic. Meredith's father was killed after a tour bus crashed. That was before she joined my family as an exchange student. She and I became friends right away. We share my room. We enjoy that. Then, she learned that her mom and only younger sister died the same way her father did.

Carlos happens to be my friend, too! I met him when we were in sixth graders. He attended Stoneybrook Day School, which is across town. He was a basketball player since he was a fifth grader. I was glad he's my brother now. His friend, Lily Anne Rose, who is also an orphan, went to Stoneybrook Middle School with me. We all attend Stoneybrook High School since that's the only high school we have here.

It didn't take us long because Mrs. Barrett and her husband came home before five. Then, Kristy and I walked to Claudia's.

"Do you want to stay at my house for supper?" I asked.

"Sure," replied Kristy. "I'll call Mom to tell her so Charlie won't have for me until after dinner at your house."

At Claudia's, Kristy had already called her mom and it was all set after that. Good. I called Dad to let him what was going on. It was a busy meeting.

After the meeting, when I got home, I was cooking dinner. Dawn told Dad and Sharon wanted macaroni and cheese during the meeting. She was helping Mallory watching her seven siblings I'm not exactly into cooking, but I'm starting to like to do it. I decided to add rolls for dinner, too. Carlos and Meredith are home for dinner. They were setting the tables for themselves, me, Kristy, Dad, and Sharon. Dawn won't be home until after nine pm. The dinner was ready by the Dad and Sharon came home from work at the same time.

"Just in time. Dinner is served," I said.

"Oh, good," said Sharon.

At the dinner table, we were talking while we were having dinner. The only person who didn't speak one word was Dad. That's not like Dad to me. Why? He's _always_ talkative and it's usually the other way around-me. After dinner, Kristy got picked up by Charlie after we cleaned the kitchen.

Then, I was talking to Carlos about Dad.

"I noticed that, too," said Carlos.

"So did I," said Meredith.

"That was very unusual," I said as they both agreed. "It's usually me who isn't talkative most of the time."

"That's so true," said Meredith as we laughed.

I decided to go see Dad who was in the living room.

"Dad," I said as I sat down on the couch with me.

That was when he looked up smiling at me.

"What's up, peanut?" asked Dad.

"I noticed how quiet you were at dinner," I said. "Meredith and Carlos noticed that as well."

"I had a busy day, that's all," said Dad.

"You were never like that. It's usually the opposite way around," I said as we both laughed.

An hour later, I called my other best friends, Kayla and Kaylee. We talked for a while. The girls like to take turns to talk to me. In fact, they both put speakers on so they can both talk to me at once.

At nine-forty-five, Dawn came home late from baby-sitting.

"I bet watching those Pike kids are a challenge," I said.

"Yes, the triplets broke a vase," said Dawn.

"Not again. Did they play ball in the house?" I asked.

"You got it," said Dawn. "I noticed it was Adam. I made him clean it up and tell his mother when she came home. He did say it was an accident, but his mother was mad at him because she told the kids not to play ball in the house. She grounded him for a week. She knew it wasn't Jordan or Byron's fault."

At ten, I went to bed.


	2. Mary Anne's House Burns Down

At one-thirty, I could feel something wet. When I woke up, it was my cat, Tigger. Then, I could hear something loud.

"What is that noise?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," replied Meredith.

"Get out quick! The house is on fire," a voice called out.

Fire? Meredith and I got up feeling the door to make sure it wasn't hot as we fled out there. I grabbed Tigger and we left the room right away. We got outside just time before the stairs were ready to collapse any minute. Thank goodness, Sharon and Carlos were out before that. That was close.

I held onto Tigger. He didn't care. He comforts me when I get scared.

"What happen?" asked Kayla.

"Oh, my, Mary Anne's house is on fire," said Kaylee.

"We better go see," said Kayla.

They both came out after they told their mom.

"Wow, your house is burning down," said Kayla.

"I know," I said.

"Thank goodness you're safe. That's all it matters," said Kaylee.

"True," I said.

It was a bit windy, so the fire was put out at two-thirty.

"It's safe to go in now," said a firefighter.

"Okay," said Dad.

"I hope my stuff is safe," I said.

"What stuff?" asked Kayla.

"I know what she's talking about," said Kaylee.

Kaylee knew what I meant. Would pictures of Kayla and Kaylee be safe? Kayla had cancer when she first moved here, but got better after my friends and I did a fundraiser.

"Do you want us to go with you?" asked Kaylee.

"That would be great," I replied.

I went to my burnt bedroom to look for them. Then, I found a scrapbook with a bunch of Kayla's pictures that were burnt. I just hope this DVD that had pictures of me, Kayla, and Kaylee, who made it for me as a Christmas gift isn't burnt. I'm scared to find out. But I couldn't find it. When I did, that CD melted. I could not believe all of pictures of me, Kaylee, and Kayla-including the DVD-are burnt into ashes. They were everything to me. Kayla did that as a part to thank me for saving her when she had cancer. That was when tears started to flow as I ran over to the barn and started weeping.

"Uh-oh," said Kayla.

"Let's go see her," said Kaylee.

They came to me.

"It'll be okay," said Kayla.

"I can't believe everything you girls made for me got burnt," I said wiping my tears.

"I know, I knew that meant everything to you," said Kaylee.

"Exactly. I wanted to keep those in my memories. What would I do if something happens to you or Kayla?" I asked.

"I know," said Kayla holding my hand.

Out there, Sharon was looking for me and said, "Where's Mary Anne?"

"Why?" asked Dad.

"She's not in here with us," said Sharon.

That was when he spotted me in the barn sobbing. The girls were still with me.

"I should go see her. She's upset about something. Excuse me," said Dad.

He went over to the barn to join me.

"Is everything okay, sweetheart?" asked Dad.

"When I found pictures of Kayla, I noticed they were all burnt into ashes. Even the DVD Kayla and Kaylee made me melted. They meant everything to me," I said while I kept weeping.

"She's very upset about it," said Kayla.

"I bet," said Dad putting my head against him and I hugged him. "It'll be okay."

"Do you want to stay with us for now?" asked Kayla.

"That would be a good idea to do," said Kaylee.

"We'll go ask our parents," said Kayla as she and Kaylee left to go ask their parents.

"Are you alright?" asked Dawn who came over as I told her about the burnt pictures and DVD Kayla and Kaylee made me and was shocked. "That's terrible!"

"I know," I agreed.

That was when the girls came to us.

"Mom and Dad said you can stay with us for the time being," said Kayla. "They felt so bad about what happened."

"Okay," said Dad. "What can we do though? Our clothes are burnt."

"You can borrow ours for now," said Kayla.

"Good idea," said Dawn.


	3. Mary Anne's Tough Night

When we got their house that was just three houses down from us, I was tired and went back to bed. They had a guest room, so I'll be in there. I wanted to share their room, but Dad wanted me to get some rest for tonight. I'm glad about having my best friends by my side. The rest of my family came ten minutes later and went to bed, too.

But I didn't go sleep at all. I was upset about those pictures. I must have fallen asleep because I was tossing and turning in bed two hours later. I was also crying in my sleep.

"No, no," I was calling out. "No, no."

Kayla must have heard me because she came in to me.

"Mary Anne, are you okay?" asked Kayla as she went over to me.

"No, no," I continued.

"Mary Anne," said Kayla as I woke up while I was still sobbing from my sleep. "You were having a bad dream."

Kaylee came by and said, "Was she okay?"

"She had a bad dream," said Kayla.

"I'm so upset about what happened," I said.

"I know," said Kaylee who sat with us.

"It's late," said Dad who came by. "Is everything okay?"

"Mary Anne was having a bad dream," said Kayla.

"She's still upset about what happened to those pictures," added Kaylee.

"I bet," said Dad.

The next day, Dad advised me to stay home from school to get some rest.

"I think so, too. Plus, I'm afraid I might not focus in classes to cause my grades to go down," I said.

"I know. I'm off today, so I'll be around," said Dad.

Unfortunately, I didn't sleep much for the afternoon.

"I thought you would be resting, honey," said Dad who noticed I was in the backyard.

"I couldn't," I said.

"Still upset about what happened to Kayla's pictures, aren't you?" asked Dad as I just nodded. "It'll be alright."

"I'm glad those girls are wonderful to me," I said.

The girls came to me after school.

"Everyone felt sorry for you including our English teacher," said Kayla.

"I'm glad they care," I said.

"I know," said Kaylee.

"I tried to get some sleep today, but I just couldn't because I kept thinking about those pictures," I said.

"I bet," said Kaylee.

"I hope I can stay in your room tonight. I just need company," I said. "Dad wants me to relax first. The way I look at it, I think he's right."

"One of us can keep you company in here if you want. This room has twin beds," said Kayla.

"I would like that," I said.

Luckily, that helped me sleep later that night. I'm glad my best friends are supporting me.


	4. Mary Anne's Problem

The next day, I decided to go to school.

At school, in English, the sub teacher- our English was out- announced there would be a project by making a collage picking anyone they want like a family member or a friend. I thought about doing it for Kayla and Kaylee, but how can I do that since they were burnt? I was trying to hold back tears thinking about it.

Kayla noticed and took my hand.

"Keep your hands to yourself," said the sub.

That didn't make me feel any better. Kayla didn't like that and went up to the sub to tell him about what happened to my house.

"My English teacher knew about it yesterday," said Kayla.

"I get what you mean," said the sub.

"I think I'll go talk to Mrs. Amer," I said as I left.

In her office, I was telling her about what happened the night before.

"When the sub announced the project of the collage, I was upset because I thought about doing it on Kayla and Kaylee. I don't know what to do," I said.

"You'll figure it out something," said Mrs. Amer.

"Maybe I might go home from here," I said. "My mind might not be on school now."

"I don't blame you, dear," said Mrs. Amer.

That was when I left the office for my locker to get my stuff and I told Kayla I was going back to her house.

"Okay, I'll inform the other teachers," said Kayla.

"Thanks," I said.

Later, when I got back to the Willis' house, I went out back to be alone. I was out on the swing when Dad saw me from the back door. Then, he came out to be with me.

"You're home early. Want some company?" asked Dad.

"I guess so," I said. "I left school early because I couldn't focus this morning."

"I bet," said Dad.

"Our sub for English announced a collage pictures by adding anyone we want. I got upset thinking about that because I was going to do collage on Kayla and Kaylee. I don't know how I'm going to do it since everything was burnt," I said.

"I know, honey," said Dad.

"Maybe the girls would have extra pictures, but I wanted to be a surprise for them," I said. "I'll just ask for the pictures."

"That would be a good idea to do," said Dad.

After we had a long talk, he decided to let me to stay in the girls' bedroom every now and then for some company. Good.

When the girls came home from school, they came to me.

"Kayla told me you left school early," said Kaylee.

"Yeah, I didn't want to fall behind in classes if I didn't have my mind on school," I said. "Um, can I ask you both something? Do you have any extra pictures I can use?"

"We do have an extra scrapbook you can take," said Kaylee.

"You do?" I asked.

Kayla went to get it and gave it to me.

"You can keep that," said Kayla.

"Really? Thanks," I said as we did a group hug.

I'm starting to feel a bit better.


	5. Mary Anne Sees Dr Reese

The next day, I went to school to see if I can focus again. I managed to concentrate in classes- _Not_. I had a hard time to focus on my class work again. As a result, I fell behind. My grades went from As to Ds for the past three days straight since I came back to school. At the Willis, I had trouble paying attention on my homework, so I decided to take a break for a while. I had a headache on top of that. Kayla and Kaylee were concerned about me. I was on the porch when they came out.

"Are you alright? You've been falling behind since when you came back to school the other day," said Kayla. "Is the house fire still on your mind to cause you to have trouble paying attention?"

"Yes. I've been trying very hard not to think about it," I said.

"I think the best thing for you to do is see Dr. Reese," suggested Kaylee.

"I think so, too," I agreed. "I'll talk to Dad about it later on."

Later, that evening, I did talk to Dad about seeing Dr. Reese to help me out.

"Okay. I can call her tomorrow," said Dad.

"Great. Thanks. Because I had trouble focusing in my classes that caused my grades dropped from As to Ds, it's hard to concentrate on homework," I admitted.

"Oh, I'm sure once you'd see Dr. Reese, you'd be able to focus better," said Dad. "I bet the house fire caused you that way."

I just nodded and said, "I just feel guilty."

"No, honey, it can happen to anyone," said Dad comforting me.

I knew he was right. Sharon came home then.

"We just found out what caused the fire. Someone threw a cigar near our house window," said Sharon.

"You're joking, right?" I asked.

"I'm serious," replied Sharon.

"It's true. I was there," added Dawn.

"Who would do that? Nobody in our family smoke," said Dad.

"That's very odd," said Sharon.

"Whoever did it, they're crazy," said Kayla.

"I know," said Kaylee.

At dinner, I didn't join the others. I wasn't hungry. At nine-thirty pm, I figured I'd go to bed hoping I'd feel better.

One of the twins got sick with a cold just before we went to bed, so I had to sleep in the guestroom and the other twin had to sleep on the couch.

In the middle of the night, I was tossing and turning in bed.

When Dad came by, he noticed that as he came in and said, "Mary Anne, honey."

He went to me while I was still tossing and turning.

"Mary Anne," said Dad as I woke up. "Are you okay now? You were tossing and turning."

"I can't wait to get rid of these dreams soon. I am so tired of them," I said wiping my tears.

"I know," said Dad while he was stroking my hair.

The next day, he contracted Dr. Reese and I was going to see her on Monday.

"I just hope the dreams about the fire would go away after that," I said.

"I'm sure it will," smiled Dad.

The dreams are driving me nuts! I kept having them for the rest of the week.

On Monday, I went to Dr. Reese's office. I checked in and went to sit to wait. I didn't wait for long when Dr. Reese came.

"Hello, Mary Anne," Dr. Reese greeted me.

"Hi," I greeted her back.

"How are you doing?" asked Dr. Reese. "Let's go over to my office and chat."

We went there and sat down.

"So, your father told me you can't focus on anything. Tell me about it," said Dr. Reese.

"It happened a week or two ago. It occurred at around one-thirty in the morning. When the fire started, my entire family, including my siblings, and I got out safe and sound-thankfully," I started. "If I didn't grab Tigger, I'd be lost without him."

"That's a good thing," said Dr. Reese.

"After the fire was out, we went in to check on things. And all of the pictures I had of Kayla-especially the scrapbook got...," I said trying to hold back tears. "They got burnt."

"I bet that upset you a lot, didn't it?" asked Dr. Reese getting me a box of kleenex.

"It did. Even this DVD contained the photos of me, Kayla, and Kaylee melted. That was everything to me. Kayla and Kaylee made me that last Christmas," I said wiping my tears with the tissues.

"I know, honey," said Dr. Reese.

"Ever since the fire, I kept having dreams about what happened to those pictures," I kept on.

"Your father mentioned it to me, too," said Dr. Reese.

"I'm glad Kayla and Kaylee were so great to me. We're staying at their house for now," I said.

"That's good," said Dr. Reece

"When a sub told us about the collage for English with pictures of anyone, I got so upset since I didn't have anything to do that because I planned to do it on Kayla and Kaylee," I said. "Luckily, they handed me their other scrapbook I can use for the project."

"That's a good thing," said Dr. Reece.

"I thought I could try to forget about it after I went back to school and pay attention in classes, but I couldn't do that. Because of that, my grades dropped. I can't focus on my homework either," I said.

"I bet," said Dr. Reece.

"I don't know what else to do," I said.

"Try not to think about it," suggested my therapist.

"That's not going to be easy to do," I said. "I've tried not to, but it didn't help much."

"Just keep trying, that's all," said Dr. Reese.

"Oh, Sharon and Dawn found something last week that caused the fire. Apparently, a cigar was thrown near a building," I said.

"Really?" asked Dr. Reece.

"Yes," I said.

After we had a long talk, I left for home.


	6. Mary Anne's Tough Day

At home, in the guest bedroom, I was _finally_ able to focus on my homework and finished it in no time. Thank goodness. I put it away in my backpack when there was a knock on the door. It was Dad who came in.

"How did it go with Dr. Reese today?" asked Dad.

"Just fine. All she said was to try not to think about the fire," I said.

"She's right," said Dad.

"I'll try not to do, but that's not going to be very easy," I said.

"I know it'd take awhile for you not to do so," said Dad taking my hand. "I just want to see you happy."

"I know you do, Dad," I said as I hugged him.

That night, at dinner, in the room, I was on the bed.

"It's time for dinner," said Kayla.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"Still upset, huh?" asked Kayla.

"Yes, I can't believe someone threw a cigar," I said. "That won't help me in school much."

"I know," said Kayla.

Luckily, I managed to sleep through the night. The next day, at school, I had a math test and failed. Why? I did focus by not thinking about the fire. I also studied, but I had a 60% on the test.

After I did that, I went to Dr. Reese's office. I didn't wait very long when she arrived as as we went to her office to sit down.

"So, how did it go?" asked Dr. Reese.

"I managed to focus to do homework. I'm trying to remember what you told me, but it's so hard to do that," I replied.

"I bet," said Dr. Reese.

"I even failed on a math test even thought I studied," I said.

"Looks like you're suffering from depression," said Dr. Reece.

"I am? I never realized that," I said.

"Yes. I can tell the way you talked to me about everything," said Dr. Reece.

After we talked for 20 to 30 more minutes, I was at home.

"Your father decided we can stay with your grandmother for the time being," said Sharon.

"But how can he do that while I'm in school?" I asked.

"Well, school vacation is coming, so he decided to wait until then," said Sharon.

"Oh, good," I said.

"My family plans to spend the weekend in New York City and we're taking Mary Anne with us like we always do. Mr. Spier already knows about it," said Kayla.

On Friday, we spend the weekend in New York City. When we got back on Sunday, I found out that Dad had already left for Iowa.

"Good. When is the next flight for Iowa?" I asked my father

"In about an hour," he replied.

"Okay, great," I said.

Thirty minutes later, at the airport, the plane was early. When I arrived in Iowa two hours later, I got my suitcase and took a cab to Grandma Verna's. When I got there, I grabbed my suitcase and went inside as I put it in the living room for now.

"Hi, Grandma," I said.

"Hi. I was in the kitchen with the rest of the crew," said Grandma Verna.

"I was told he's here, so I decided I'd join him," I said.

"He told me about what happen to your house," said my grandmother.

"Yeah, I had trouble sleeping, I couldn't focus in school," I said.

"I bet. He told you have been seeing Dr. Reese. Did she help you a lot?" asked Grandma Verna.

I nodded.

"She told me that I'm suffering from depression, which I never knew about," I said. "But luckily, I've been sleeping a bit better so far."

"That's good," said Grandma Verna as I agreed. "Let's go join your father. The rest of the crew is outside."

That's what we did.

"Hi, Mary Anne, did you had a fun time?" asked Dad.

"Yes," I replied telling him about the weekend.


	7. The Mystery Solved

That evening, Kristy called me saying someone paid a smoker to throw a cigar near our house. And, that someone happened to be my worst enemy, Cokie Mason.

"How could she do that?" I asked.

"I know," said Kristy.

I got up and headed to my room. In my room, I was on my bed while being curled up in a ball. I'm glad what I found out.

I had already texted Kayla and Kaylee about what I learned from Kristy. They thought Cokie was nuts, too.

"Mary Anne, dinner," said Grandma Verna.

But I never came down.

"Mary Anne, hon," said Dad.

I just remained in my room.

"Excuse me for one moment," said Dad who was getting concerned about me.

He came up knocking on my door and came in to be with me while I was still being curled up in a ball.

"Honey, it's time for supper," said Dad.

"I don't want anything right now," I said while I sat up in tears.

"Are you okay?" asked Dad.

I told him about it.

"What?" asked Dad.

"Yes," I said. "Cokie was crazy to do that."

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" asked Dad.

"Positive," I replied.

I stayed in my room most of the time. I didn't even come down at all. Dad already told Grandma Verna and the others about it.

"Cokie?" asked Dawn.

"She's the one who destroyed everything was important to Mary Anne?" asked Carlos.

"Yes," said Dad.

"Wow," said Sharon.

Even though I'm glad that I went to see Dr. Reese, I kept waking up from those nightmares about the fire. Here we go again! I didn't get them while I was in New York with the Willis family. This one was about Grandma Verna's house was on fire and I was the only one who made it out alive-not Grandma or Dad. In fact, I had it three times. Boy, was I shaking like a leaf.


	8. Mary Anne's Embarrassing Day

The next day, I got up and came down feeling tired.

"Morning. You look tired this morning," said Dad.

"I had a tough night, that's all," I said. "I kept having bad dreams."

"Are you starting to have those fire dreams again?" asked Dad.

"I hope not. I didn't have that in New York City," I replied. "And, I am _so_ sick of them."

"I know, sweetheart," said Dad holding my hand.

I decided to take a shower before I got dressed.

"I think I'll hang out with Bob tonight," I said.

"That would do you good," said Dad.

That night, at the mall, we had dinner in the food court. Then, after dinner, at the movies, Bob ordered two movie tickets for NASCAR. He didn't even ask me if I wanted to see it.

"We are?" I asked.

"Yes," said Bob.

"You didn't mention that to me," I said.

"Let's go anyway," said Bob.

I was very angry while we watched the movie and I didn't speak to him.

"What is your problem?" asked Bob.

"You're one bossy person. It was bad enough Logan used to be like that," I said.

"Who cares!" exclaimed Bob.

I walked away before he was doing that in front of everyone. It was time for me to head home.

That was when I came home in a bad mood. At that time, I stomped up to my room and slammed the door. Bob and I nearly had a fight, but I didn't. He changed into a bossy person. I don't need that. He reminded me on how Logan used to be.

"Uh-oh. Looks like someone's in a bad mood," said Grandma Verna.

"Something must have happened. Excuse me," said Dad as he got up to go upstairs to see me.

In my room, I was on my bed facing the other way crying when Dad knocked on the door and came in.

"Mary Anne," said Dad sitting next to me noticing that. "Are you okay? Did something happen between you and Bob?"

"He changed. Remember how bossy Logan used to be? That's how Bob is starting to be now," I said while I was still sobbing.

"Since when he's like that?" asked Dad.

"Beats me," I said wiping my tears.

"Did it happen after dinner?" asked Dad.

I nodded and said, "Bob ordered two tickets to see a _NASCAR_ _movie_. He didn't even check with me. I'd say yes if he did check with me. He's _never_ like that. I told him why can't he ask me that. He ignored my question by saying let's go anyway."

"I agree he should've checked with you," said Dad.

"That got us in a fight, but I didn't. Worse of all, he yelled at me in front of _every_ one. That was when I left feeling embarrassed," I said.

"Yelling at me in front of everyone is the most embarrassing moment of my life," I said.

"I know, sweetie," said Dad comforting me.

Dad went to tell my grandmother about what happened.

"Bossy and embarrassed her? That's not a way to treat a friend. Bob should ask Mary Anne if she wanted to see a movie instead of telling her what to do," said Grandma Verna. "Good thing she left him."

"I know. You could tell Mary Anne's hurt because of that," said Dad.

"I bet," agreed Grandma Verna. "I'll have to call Tina to tell her. She'll let him have it."

Grandma Verna called Tina to tell her about it.

Then, the doorbell rang and when Grandma Verna answered, it was Bob.

"Why did Mary Anne leave me?" asked Bob.

"You should ask yourself that. She told us what you did. Embarrassing her by yelling at her in front of everyone at the mall is very unacceptable," said Grandma Verna in her firm voice.

"But I just wanted to see _NASCAR_ ," said Bob.

"Without checking with her first? You need to have good manners," said my grandmother. "That's being bossy to her. Friends do ask if they want to see a movie. Your mother knew and she said you better apologize to my granddaughter right now or you'll be punished."

"That was hurtful for what you did. Friends don't boss or embarrass each other. You wouldn't like if I wanted to see a movie without checking with you first," I pointed out.

"Mary Anne has a very good point," said Grandma Verna.

That got Bob to realize about my point.

"I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" asked Bob.

"If you promise to check with me for now on," I replied.

"Okay, it's a deal," said Bob.

"Good," I said.

At least Bob apologized to me.


	9. Mary Anne's Brand New House

The next day, Dad and I were able to go back home with Sharon. That was a good thing. Later, I was seeing Dr. Reese and I'll be going to her as long as I needed to. I was in her office at the time.

"So, how's everything so far?" asked Dr. Reese after we sat down.

"I had a great weekend in New York City. When I came back, I learned Dad was in Iowa, so I joined him. Even though I tried not to think about the fire, I still had nightmares about it in Iowa. It's just so hard not to think about it," I said.

"I bet," agreed Dr. Reese.

"I just want those dreams to disappear. Here's what I found out: Kristy told me that Cokie paid a smoker to throw a cigar against the house that caused the fire. We just got back today. However, we're still staying with the Willis family for now. The house didn't get rebuild yet," I said.

"It's good that you have good friends who care about you," said Dr. Reese.

"Tell me about it," I agreed.

The next day, I still had trouble concentrating in classes and worst of all; my perfect grades were dropped to Fs. Yet, I can focus on my homework during study hall. Does that make _any_ sense? My enemies were no help because they were teasing me about that. I told it to Dr. Reese. I'm glad she understands.

Dad probably didn't know I was home until he came by and noticed.

"Hi, Mary Anne, I didn't hear you come home." said Dad.

"Hi," I said while my voice was breaking.

"Are you okay? You look upset this afternoon," said Dad as he came in to be with me.

"I had a tough day, that's all. I still couldn't focus in class. The worst part is that my grades have been dropped to Fs. What funny is that I have no trouble concentrating on my homework during study hall. Cokie and her sidekicks weren't helping because they teased me about it. Dr. Reese already knows," I said with my tears rolling down.

"Oh, it'll be okay, honey," said Dad getting me to put me near his shoulder as I hugged him while I was sobbing.

In the middle of the night, I woke up from a bad dream. Why can't these dreams about the fire just go away?

The next day, I _finally_ managed to focus and as a result, my grades pulled up to every single B. It was about time, right? And, I had an A+ on my collage project. Thank god I was able to focus on that and on my homework. Later, I went to see Dr. Reese for one last time and told her what I was finally able to do. She was glad to see me that depression was going away. At least Dad knew that I'm doing better.

And, guess what? I've been sleeping better that night and luckily for me, those dreams disappeared at last! I hope they will never come back at all. As you can see, I'm starting to forget about the fire. A week later, I found out that the insurance for the house has been approved and we are able to get our house fixed. A month later, my house is all done! Good! I noticed it was bigger than ever.

"It feels like that the house is still standing," I said.

"I know," agreed Meredith.

According to Dad and Sharon, she and I are still sharing a room. Carlos has a new room in the hallway while they added a new attic while his old room used to be. He didn't mind about that at all. Dawn and Jeff have their own rooms again. We loved the new rooms and the house. Our rooms are much bigger. When I got into my newest room, I noticed there was a large present on my bed from both Kayla and Kaylee and the other girls. When I opened it, it was both a new scrapbook and an extra DVD she had that including Kayla's pictures.

"They made a new one already?" asked Meredith.

I nodded.

"Those girls have been so great to you," said Meredith.

I was so speechless that I was ready to cry any minute.

"I just didn't know what to expect. I'm just shocked," I said.

"I'm glad," smiled Meredith.

"I can't wait to show this to Dad," I said.

That's what I did.

"That was quick," said Dad.

"I know. It was on my bed. That's how surprised I was," I said with tears rolled down. "I'm just happy about this."

"I bet," said Dad with a grin.

Later, we had a homecoming party and I included all of my friends especially Kayla and Kaylee.

"I saw the gift you made me. I didn't think you had an extra DVD and pictures of all three of us in it," I said.

"It was Kristy's idea. She didn't want to spoil the secret," said Kaylee.

"Yeah," said Kayla.

"Thank you so much," I said while I was sobbing and hugged her happily this time. "I wouldn't know what to do without you."

I was also wiping my tears. They get to stay overnight.

"You're lucky to have great friends like Kayla and Kaylee," said Stacey.

"I know I am," I smiled.

We didn't go to bed until around midnight. We were in the basement. Carlos and Meredih like to join us when we have sleepovers. We didn't fall asleep until about 30 minutes later.

The End


End file.
